SERDANG: The Six Fire and Rescue Department divers drowned after they were sucked by a deadly whirlpool created by strong current at the mining pool in Taman Putra Perdana, Puchong yesterday.
Fire and Rescue Department director-general Mohammad Hamdan Wahid said his men were spotted struggling to pull themselves out of the dangerous situation but were dragged under by the vortex.
"A whirlpool had formed at the area and a team on the banks said they saw the six divers struggling to get out.
"The team also took immediate action by pulling them out and administered emergency procedures but it was too late."
He said early checks showed that a floodwall near the area had failed to contain gushing floodwater brought about by heavy rain yesterday afternoon.
"There is a floodwall at the location but it was overflowed by floodwater. We will investigate the matter further to ensure this tragedy can be avoided in future." he said, when met at the Serdang Hospital's Forensic Department today.
In the incident, the divers; Mohd Fatah Hashim, 34, Izatul Akma Wan Ibrahim, 32, Mazlan Omarbaki, 25, Yahya Ali, 24, Adnan Othman, 33, and Muhammad Hifdzul Malik Shaari, 25, were killed while looking for a teenage boy who fell into the mining pond.
Mohd Fatah, Izatul Akma, Mazlan and Yahya were from Klang station while Adnan and Muhammad Hifdzu were from Shah Alam station.
Mohammad Hamdan added that the department's prayers go out to the families of the firefighters.
Meanwhile, Sepang police chief Assistant Commissioner Abdul Aziz Ali said initial investigation showed the six divers had gotten themselves entangled in a rope as they were being dragged by strong current at the scene.
"During the incident, the six divers were already in the water for nearly five minutes, searching for the missing teen.
"Suddenly, a strong current came gushing into the area causing them to be dragged further down and got tangled by the rope that connected them.
"Some of their diving equipment also got lost during the commotion." he told reported at the scene early this morning.
Abdul Aziz said rescuers at the banks who saw the incident attempted to pull the divers out but to no avail.
"The first victim managed to be pulled out after 30 minutes but by this time all of them were already unconscious." he said.
He added that the search for the missing teen has been called off and would continue in the morning.
"We hope to be able to start again by 8am." he said. — Additional reporting by Mohd Azam Shah Yaacob